2 min readApr 2, 2026 11:25 AM ISTSUCI (Communist) activists hold a demonstration opposing the SIR outside the Election Commission office, Kolkata, on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)The Supreme Court Thursday took serious exception to the gherao and violence against judicial officers deputed to decide cases flagged for logic discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal late Wednesday.A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said it was a “brazen attempt not only to browbeat the judicial officers, but it also amounts to challenging the authority of this court.”The bench, which said it received a letter from the High Court Chief Justice, added that it ex facie appears to be a calculated, deliberate, well-planned move to demoralise the judicial officers and stop the ongoing process of adjudicating objections in the SIR process.The court made it clear that it “will not allow anyone to interfere and take the law into their hands in order to create psychological fear in the minds of judicial officers”. The court said it undoubtedly amounted to criminal contempt.The bench said it is also an abdication of duty by the West Bengal Government, and the officers need to furnish reasons why, even after being informed, they did not ensure the safe evacuation of the officers.It directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to requisition additional central forces and deploy them wherever judicial officers are adjudicating, as well as in places where these officers are presently staying.Also Read | Amid steep travel costs, SIR fears, Bengal migrants try to return home for a vote that feels vitalThe court asked ECI to entrust the investigation into Wednesday’s violence to an independent agency, such as the CBI or the NIA, and to ensure that the preliminary report is submitted to the bench. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd